Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Vol. 1 - Gathering of Fates

While I agree in principle and in some specifics with the review, I have a slightly different take. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles is an excellent story. The first season is as good as anyone could expect from anime. And yes, the second season falls short. However, Tsubasa animation does not end with season two. Three more excellent episodes called "Tokyo Revelations" in OVA form have been released in Japan by a different studio (awaiting licensing in the US), with expectation that more will follow. So, if you hesitate to invest in this series because you think it dead ends, keep that in mind.Where I disagree with the previous reviewer has more to do with whether or not one also reads the manga from which the anime is adapted. I have watched some 150 anime series, but have read little manga. From my experience, the comparison between novel/movie and manga/anime adaptations is virtually parallel. If you read books and manga, you should as a rule avoid the movies and anime based on them, because you will usually be disappointed. An anime I enjoyed, Love Hina, was ruined for ever watching again by my reading the manga, and that adaptation was supposedly a good one.Point being, this is anime, not manga. Taken on its own, Tsubasa's first anime season ranks with some of the best. The flaws are minor: I almost stopped watching because of the horrible audio mix in the first episode. I literally almost started re-adjusting my sound system, because the music drowned out dialogue. The music was misplaced, with intense action music playing, and playing continuously, over non-action dialogue, where no music at all would actually have been most appropriate--much worse than any "B" Hollywood movie I've ever watched. Fortunately, either the sound person was replaced or corrected immediately, since by episode two or three the mix was fine.More obvious in season two, but somewhat in season one, are the animation shortcuts: those long pauses for instance. This becomes ludicrous and laughable toward the end of season two, when I presume the studio had already been informed they would lose the series and so started cutting production costs dramatically. But somewhat in season one, you'll find yourself actually wondering when the screen will change or someone will say something.I disagee entirely with the season two "Smurfs" comment, however. That animation style lasts only one episode, is quite humorous, serves the purpose of comic relief, and as such is placed properly. More generally, if you are looking for pure action or dramatic anime, then Tsubasa isn't what you want anyway. The series was broadcast at 6:30 pm in Japan, meaning it was intended for family or young audiences (as in the US, anime with more adult themes are aired late night). Though the series, as with many Japanese stories, does get dark at times, overall this anime is a fantasy-romance story with a strong comedic tone.Bottom line is don't hesitate to buy this series because of a comparison to the manga, or because of flaws that become apparent late in season two. CLAMP, the creators of Tsubasa and one of the most famous manga production groups in Japan, wrote the manga series (still continuing, in fact) as an anniversary gift to their millions of fans, and the quality is definitely there. Though obviously some of that quality seems lost via adaptation, the anime is still well worth owning, and we can only hope that the new studio behind Tokyo Revelations will continue releasing more episodes.One last word on crossovers: CLAMP wrote Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles to crossover directly with xxxHolic, another of their manga series still running concurrently (much of the crossover is not in the anime versions). But more importantly, to enhance the enjoyment for their core fanbase, nearly every character in Tsubasa is actually an alternate version of a character from their earlier works. While not essential, a previous viewing of Cardcaptor Sakura and Chobits, for instance, greatly enhances the depth or comedy of some scenes and episodes.

Those who read the manga may be a little dissapointed in the anime. Some scenes didn't go into a enough detail to be honest and the dialouge was toned down in places that it didn't need to be.Those who buy this, do be warned that CLAMP was not happy with the second season and discontinued this series. Speculation is that there may be another animation company who will take it over (and I definitely hope so, Bee Train does the second season so little justice)But to be honest, the first season is pretty good. The dub is also well-done, which I am thankful for being a hard core Tsubasa/CLAMP fan in general.I'm pretty pleased with this to be honest, despite my half-hearted review. The music is amazing, as is the animation. The dialouge could use a little work, but that was my only complaint (aside from my biast opinion on Bee Train)It's a fairly good anime, and if you hadn't read the manga, you may find it to your liking.~MelissaThat was my first real review on something here...I just now realized that....

This first DVD features the first whopping five episodes of the series (take that Region 2!) which introduces us to all the main characters and takes them on their first adventure to the world of Hanshin.Having watched the series during it's original run on Japanese TV and being sorely disappointed with several of the voice actors (I'm looking at you Sakura, Fai and Kurogane!) I was looking forward to hearing the English actors and what they would do with their roles and man, not only was I pleasantly surprised... I was ECSTATIC!!! The English voice actors not only manage to match the characters but they also achieve something the Japanese actors couldn't: giving their characters personalities!The Japanese Sakura has always been, for me, an example of one of the most boring portrayals of an anime character. The actress always came across as rather weak and wispy and this even includes the scenes before Sakura lost her features where she was supposed to be full of life. Fai and Kurogane's voice actors fit their roles but didn't seem to do much else with them. One might go so far as to say that they became almost stereotypes of themselves. It wasn't until I saw the amazing xxxHolic anime series did I consider that Bee Train's voice direction may have been to blame.The same voice actress that portrayed Yuko in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle portrayed her in the xxxHolic series and the difference in quality is shocking at times. In xxxHolic, Yuko is full of energy even when she's talking seriously. In Tsubasa she honestly seems bored at times. I also found some subtle differences in the way the different Mokona's were portrayed in the different series with black Mokona showing a lot more comedic range than the white one in Tsubasa who seemed to be on "just be cute all the time" mode.Watching the English Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles is like watching an entirely new show! All the voices are so dynamic and have so much depth. It's like the characters from the manga have finally been given the voices we all expected! Sakura is now full of life and energy. She's no more the annoying high pitched "we have to love her just because" anime girl. Here she has a personality and is actually likeable, something the Japanese version never really made us feel they just beat us over the head every episode by having characters tell us she's so likeable and great.Mokona is spot on and shows us all kinds of cuteness. Fai and Kurogane are both perfectly cast here, obviously due to their similarities to their Japanese counterparts but are so much more interesting to listen to. While I always liked the Japanese Syaoran, this version also seems to offer a greater emotional range.The only voices I was a bit concerned about were Fay Wang Reed who just sounded so different than what I expected though he did grow on me by Episode 5 and Watanuki who sounded very unusual, mind you he only spoke one line.The only really negative aspect of the dub I could find was the mispronounciations of some of the names. Kurogane's was particularily strange and Mokona is being over pronounced as "Moe-ko-na". Sakura also suffers as well, being pronounced as "Saaarrr-ku-ra" instead of the proper "Sa-ku-ra". Whether this was a deliberate choice of pronunciation or due to the voice actor's American or Canadian accents I'm not sure. It does detract from the enjoyment a little and I hope they correct this by the next volume.Overall this is a great release though and those of you who found the Japanese version boring and painful to watch should definitely give the English one a go.

At first I really didnt understand what a "starter set" was, but being a HUGE fan of CLAMP and TSUBASA I ordered it anyway.Its simply a box to hold your TSUBASA anime collection. But if your a big fan of TSUBASA, its a must have!! The box is decorated with wonderful art of the characters. ITs official merchandise and def. doesnt look cheaply done. In additional, it came with the first volume (as advetized) and a second wonderfully decorated box that Im not too sure what it for but maybe more TSUBASA movies? or books? either way, the second box was a plus to me.Im glad I got it. It makes a wonderful collectable and its admired by friends everytime they come by.

really great series , would like the whole lot, but its pricey, but the first 4 are good for now .